HUDSON COUNTY – Beginning Friday, Aug. 23 at 9 a.m., the Pulaski Skyway has been closed until about 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26, for the installation of a new floor beam that will support travel lanes over the Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City.

The Skyway provides four travel lanes for motor vehicles, two in each direction separated by a center barrier. All Route 1&9 traffic will be detoured, with the northbound highway closed at the Skyway entrance near Newark Liberty Airport, and Route 1&9 southbound closed at the ramp from Route 139 westbound to the Tonnelle Circle.

Motorists will who are heading south on Route 1&9 trying to get onto the Skyway near the Tonnelle Circle will be able to do so, and motorists going west on Route 139 will be able to cut through the circle and get on the Skyway southbound.

A long term truck detour for all large-truck traffic from Tonnelle Avenue headed for Route 139 eastbound lower level (Holland Tunnel approach) was implemented last weekend and will remain in place until early September.

The work is associated with Contract 1 of the $1 billion project to rehabilitate the Pulaski Skyway, an 80-year-old elevated highway that carries 67,000 motor vehicles per day between Newark and Jersey City and serves as an express link for cars and buses to and from the Holland Tunnel. The massive improvement project will extend the life of the Skyway by 75 years.

In January, NJDOT announced a construction plan that will require a complete diversion of northbound motorists from the Skyway for approximately two years, starting after the Super Bowl in 2014, while the existing deck of the 3.5-mile long structure that carries Route 1&9 traffic is replaced. Two southbound travel lanes will be maintained during this phase of the rehabilitation project. NJDOT created a project-specific website, www.pulaskiskyway.com, which contains a wealth of information about the Skyway and the project.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.